Easy Stenciled Placemats (w/ printable stencil)
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Time spent in the kitchen with my Mom and Granny are some of my favorite memories from childhood. It’s definitely important to me to get my kids involved in what goes on in the kitchen. Time in the kitchen with Mom (or Dad) is a great way to teach them about nutrition and healthy choices- it might even help get them interested in trying healthy or new foods they would normally refuse. (I’m almost certain most of us could use a little help getting our kids to try new foods.)
Helping to prep and cook the food is definitely one of my kids favorite activities, but with jobs, activities and homework, we don’t always have time for the fun stuff. Luckily, there are plenty of activities and tasks other than cooking that will get the kids involved in the kitchen. Meal planning, emptying the dishwasher, setting the table, making drinks and even ordering pizza is a way to get everyone involved!
Yes, I said even ordering pizza! Our favorite pizza for delivery is Papa John’s. The kids love to log on to the Papa John’s online ordering site and create their pizzas. Every pizza we order is required to have one meat topping, one veggie topping and cheese. (Their system even allows you to split the pizza in half- everyone gets what they like and I can even order it “well baked”- which is how I prefer my pizza.) With Papa John’s higher quality ingredients and fewer processed food, I don’t feel guilty serving their pizza.
What I like about Papa John’s is they have NO trans fats, no MSG, no BHA or BHT, no fillers in it’s meat toppings and no partially hydrogenated oils in their pizzas. They use 100% real cheese and their toppings are all made from real beef, pork, have no fillers in the meat toppings. Plus their dough is made with only seven simple ingredients: unbleached, enriched high-protein flour, purified water, sugar, soybean oil, salt, yeast and extra virgin olive oil. Papa John’s uses a very small, select group of suppliers from around the world that they very carefully vet to ensure they live up to Papa John’s standards. So yes, when Papa John’s says “Better Ingredients. Better Pizza.” they really mean it!Now, back to these adorable placemats…
When I’m in a hurry and trying to get dinner on the table, another way I keep the kids working with me is with simple tasks like emptying the dishwasher, picking up around the common areas, sweeping up the crumbs under the breakfast bar and setting the table.
To help ensure the table would be set properly, I thought it would be fun/useful for our placemats to double as a place setting “guide”. These placemats are so easy to make! You can use any type of placemat, something you have sewn yourself or even a store bought placemat.
To make the placemats, you need:
- placemats
- stencil template ==>> download template here
- plate to trace
- fabric paint
- freezer paper
- iron
- exacto knife
- foam paintbrush
Print template and rip off a piece of freezer paper large enough to cover your placemat. (It’s helpful to trim the freezer paper to be the exact size of the placement if you can.) Lin up the plate and slip the silverware templates under the freezer paper.Using the exacto knife carefully cut the plate and silverware shapes from the freezer paper.
Shiny side down, iron the freezer paper template on to the placemat
Paint over the stencil. Once the pain has mostly dried, remove the freezer paper and….
Voilà!
You have a pretty place setting placemat!
Papa John’s knows that, for you, it’s not just a better pizza. It’s a family gathering, memorable birthday, work celebration or simply a great meal—and it’s their goal to make sure you always have the best ingredients for every moment.
Papa John’s has NO trans fats, no MSG, no BHA or BHT, no fillers in the meat toppings and no partially hydrogenated oils. To learn more, visit www.papajohns.com/better.
Papa John’s knows that, for you, it’s not just a better pizza. It’s a more time doing things that matter with your family and it’s their goal to make sure you always have the best ingredients for every moment!
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Papa John’s. The opinions and text are all mine.
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